Professional Internship Programme for 2019 Launched

The Queen Elizabeth Hospital (QEH) provides a one year professional internship programme for newly graduated medical doctors. Intake to the programme occurs biannually, in January and July; and this July, 28 young doctors were accepted into the QEH’s internship programme.

The one year professional internship programme is comprised of three month rotations in each of the major clinical departments, Internal Medicine, Obstetrics & Gynaecology, Pediatrics and Surgery. In these departments, interns work under the supervision of a consultant, and in conjunction with other junior doctors who are in varying stages of specialist training, as part of a medical team. During the course of the programme, interns are continuously assessed and the best performing interns are designated “Outstanding Interns,” with the “Intern of the Year” selected from the group of outstanding interns.

On receiving an academic medical degree from a recognized university, an approved internship is required in order for doctors to register with the Medical Council of Barbados and be able to practice medicine in Barbados. The QEH with its long history as a teaching hospital provides a training ground for these young medical professionals. On completion of the internship programme, medical graduates are expected to have gained relevant professional experience and to have been mentored by senior doctors to prepare them for independent practice or further post graduate specialty studies.

Many of Barbados’ most distinguished physicians and surgeons began their medical careers as interns at the QEH. While proud of its history, the QEH acknowledges the hard work and invaluable contribution of its intern corps and remains committed to the development of today’s interns, into the outstanding doctors of the future.